Improvement in knives and forks



W. D. SMlTH.

Knives and Forks. l.

lPatented Dec.17,1872.

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llIlIbHm )OER @immun WILLIAM D. SMITH, or HoMEEvILLE, GEORGIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNIVES AND FORKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,011, dated December 17, 1872.

To all whom 'it may concern.-

Be -it known that I, WILLIAM DARNALL SMITH, of Homerville, in the county of Clinch and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Knives and Forks, of which the following is a specification:

Figure l is a side view of a knife provided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detailed side view of its blade; Fig. 3, a transverse section on the line c e, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detailed face view of a detachable fork 5 Fig. 4, a side view of the locking-lever.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts,

This invention has for its object to make the blades and prongs of table knives and forks detachable from their handles and readily attachable thereto, with the further object of permitting such blades and prongs to be washed and cleaned separately without necessitating the immersion of the handles into water, and their consequent injury or destruction.

The invention consists in supporting the front lof a knife or fork in a detachable handle by means of a lever having a bifurcated arm on its front end and at right angles thereto; in holding this support firmly to its place by the pressure of back-spring on its rear end; and finally in the mode of combining several features of construction so vas to hold the knife and handle together and yet allow them to be easily separated, all as hereinafter fully de scribed.

In the accompanying drawing, the letter A represents a handle of a knife or fork. It is made of suitable material and suitable shape and style. In its back edge is fastened a spring, a, by a pivot, b, similar to the back spring in apocket-knife. Near the upper end of the handle is secured through the same a pin, d. B is the knife-blade, to be secured to the handle.

It has a hook, e, formed at its lower end, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. With this it is hooked over the pin d, and then turned up in line with the handle so that the spring a bears with its upper part against the straight back edge f of the hook, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l. D is a lever, pivoted by a pin, d, to the lower end of the handle. Its upper end carries a forked arm, 71., which, after the blade has been applied, as shown in Fig. l; is carried up to straddle the lower part ofthe blade and partly enter a slot, t', therein, thereby to lock such blade firmly and securely to the handle. The lower end of the spring a, bears against the lower end of the lever D and holds the same locked on the blade, while the upper end of said spring holds the blade in the proper position. C is the prong portion of la fork, provided at :its lower end with a hook, e, the same as the blade B, as shown in Fig. 4. It can be applied to the handle in the same manner as,

the blade.

Whenever the blade or prong portion which is attached to the handle is to be detached therefrom, it is only necessary to swing the lever D aside and to turn the blade or prong portion down on the pivot d against the face of the handle, and then to unhook it from the pin d.

The invention is also applicable to the fastening of the blades or parts of surgical instruments or other apparatus to the handles thereof, and to other equivalent purposes.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A detachable handle having lever D with the fork-arm h straddlin g blade of knife or fork, as described, to afford lateral support to said blade.

2. A table knife or fork, provided with the support D, pivoted at g and held firmly in position by the rear end of back-spring a, as described.

3. A blade of knife or fork, having hook e and recesses t', combined with a handle having lockdever D, spring a, and pivot d in front recess, as described, for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses: WILLIAM D. SMITH.

E. T. DUKEs, J osrAH SIRMANs. 

